Master Mixer Madness

[ORCoaster]

Some on this forum run straight diesel, other WVO still other WMO and all types of things in between or on the outside of crazy.  I can't remember if I read any discussions on mixing WVO with some amount of straight Diesel and being able to 1. start it when it's around 40 degrees F outside and 2. If running a mix through a normal heat exchanger is OK for such a mix.

Anyone care to teach me something?  I have the a typical WVO system on the Rabbit but with my commute trimmed to just 3 from 225 miles one way I am not using it anymore.  But could I be?  Could I throw say 3 gallons of the expensive D into the other 8 gallons of Cheapy Waste Veg Oil and be able to get it to work for me.  I put triple heaters on my system but being that I am only going 3 miles I doubt I will get enough heat to the first one that does the mail oil heating just before it goes into the IP.

I shudder to think that I would just gum up the works with improper temps.  I would know to the degree what the temp of the oil going in the pump would be as I have some really nice digital temp gauges on that location and then just after it comes out the seconday Racor Fuel Filter. 

What are your collective thoughts on this.  Do or Don't Do? 

[CRSMP5]

mason jars with your brew.. a thermoter.. a freezer will do wonders... all you can do is mix and try.. worst case.. dump in the other tank..

[ORCoaster]

True dat.  But canning season is just coming up and I don't want canned diesel to be sitting around too long.  I am not so sure the misses is going for the jars in the fridge idea either.  We only have the one in the kitchen to play with.  Not like back home where we had the beer fridge in the garage.  How convienent,  Dad was so smart. 

Yeah I guess I can start some trials, just thought I would throw it out there to see if someone already had the magic mixture.  1.74 gals d to 3.26 WVO? 

[745 turbogreasel]

How much diesel can you burn in 3 miles?

Id  be inclined to wrap an electric blanket around the VO tank, and plug in at night.

[ORCoaster]

Currently getting 30-34 miles to the gallon on this route so like a tenth of a gallon?  Using electricity just to be able to burn fossil fuels or rather replacable veg oil fuels just doesn't make it for me.  Goes against the green grain. 

I was more interested in using the WVO system in lieu of diesel.  The cost for the fuel difference is half the price of diesel here.  2 buck versus 4. 

I had hoped to be able to secure the cost of the WVO system by the large and numerous distances I was driving.  Now payback seems impossible.  Although I could pull it and sell it on Craigslist I guess.  Nah, better to keep it fully functional in the car as hope to sell to a like minded person that is willing to see the investment and return it to me.

So, round trip to work and back is only about .2 X 128 ounces = 25.6.   Less than a big gulp that is.  Still I would rather have it be the cheaper fuel or a mix of cheap and not so cheap. 

[theman53]

start making bio?

[ORCoaster]

That would really make the title stick wouldn't it?  But no thanks.  First I have the tee shirt, the been there done that with the Veg oil mess.  Second is that the local market for raw oil is sewn up or sucked up actually.  Guy patrols his turf with the big tank and pump in tow.  Not something I think I need to do.  Plus it is the time.  I like most of you do not have time to repair let alone brew some up on the weekend.  Easier to just buy it.  Maybe as a retirement venture.  Hey yeah, then just market it out for cash and enjoy the supplemental income.  Have to find a place other than the house to make it, just no room here for that kind of operation. 

[745 turbogreasel]

What do yo mean, you only need a blender full a day.

[ORCoaster]

Need a second blender then.  Margraitas would taste terrible after a quick brew of bioD. 

I can see myself driving around with a one gallon can under the hood and filling up once on the weekend and once on Friday morning.  And they think electric cars have limited distance.  I guess if need be I could tap into the other tanks and get to the rest of the 22 gallons of fuel. 

BioD by the can-full, Hmmm might be doable.  I have 20 gals of wvo to play with in the shed.  Brought it down from Portland in the move back home in December.

[theman53]

that is why I suggested it. Small batches you could control pretty easily and not take up tons of room. For the space of 2 or 3 five gallon containers you could make your fuel as long as you didn't start running the long trips you used to for work. Then you could use the WVO system. Best of both.

[ORCoaster]

Found this on the WVO forum and news letter.

An quick and easy way to get started using WVO or straight vegetable oil is to blend the finely cleaned oil with a thinning agent. For proper flow through fuel lines, filters and and injectors, the WVO needs to be thinned down to near the viscosity of diesel. To accomplish this, WVO is blended with other viscosity reducing fuels. The are a variety of ways to blend, with many folks documenting success with each. Here are some examples:

Diesel, D2 - Advantages: readily available, fuel systems designed for, can blend at high% Drawbacks: Expensive, not the best at reducing viscosity. Typical Blend: 25-50% Diesel

Kerosene, K2 - Advantages: can be blended in high %, tolerant of heat, lubricating and won’t negatively affect combustion. Typical blend of 10-30%K2

Regular Unleaded Gas, RUG - Advantages: greatly reduces viscosity, readily available. Drawback: highly volatile Typical Blend: 15%RUG

Ethanol, E85 - Advantages: Reduces smoke, cheaper than diesel and RUG. Drawbacks: hard to find in some areas. Typical Blend: 15%E85

Acetone - Advantages: Excellent viscosity reducer. Drawbacks: Expensive, powerful solvent, highly volatile Typical Blend: 10-20%Acetone

[burn_your_money]

In the summer I will run 50/50 VWO/D2 for long trips but I find it too thick if temps drop below 60. I usually run about a 25/75 if it will be sitting in the car for a long time. I premix the WVO and D2 prior to filtering the WVO. I have been told that they won't blend together if you don't premix it so you'll be running half the tank on 100% veg and half on 100% D2.

I find the car is hard to start when I've mixed in too high of a percentage of WVO but I've not had a problem with the car actually not starting. I haven't run WVO in about 5 tanks and I can still smell the veggie, so it definitely will linger in the system for a long time.

Next up is bioD, it's 2 hours away from me though so I need to save up some coin to buy enough to make the trip worth while.

I have spare engines sitting around so I'm not overly worried if I break something, so keep that in mind if you take my advice.

[homerj1]

Hey Folks

I just been offered some WVO - basically an ongoing small source of used canola oil - free.

I'm just curious,  

1. What is the procedure and equipment you used for filtering?
2. How\where did you mix the d2 and filtered WVO?
3. Any issues?  (other then when the ambient temp dropped?)

It would be using in my 1.6td Mk1 straight into the oem tank. I was thinking it would be nice to "fool around" with WVO - but I didn't want to commit to a lot of equipment & $$$

thanks

Aivars

[745 turbogreasel]

Hey Folks

I just been offered some WVO - basically an ongoing small source of used canola oil - free.

I'm just curious,  

1. What is the procedure and equipment you used for filtering?
settle in a drum  for 3+ days in the sun
strain through 5U filter sock


2. How\where did you mix the d2 and filtered WVO?
I never mix
3. Any issues?  (other then when the ambient temp dropped?)

It would be using in my 1.6td Mk1 straight into the oem tank. I was thinking it would be nice to "fool around" with WVO - but I didn't want to commit to a lot of equipment & $$$

thanks

Aivars

IMO  using other  fuels without  redundancy in the fuel system is asking  for  trouble.
Oil  varies a lot between sources....some won't even filter.

[the caveman]

This is my 3 rd car running VO with 2 tanks systems for almost 300,000kms total between them.In summer when I am too lazy to keep my diesel tank up to at least 1/2 tank, I find that once the diesel gets low and so the percentage of VO gets up to probably near or above 1/2 VO, the engine runs too rough for my liking. In the same situation once it gets cold, it's almost unbearable. Keeping in mind I am trying to get another 400,000 out this engine(98 AHU with 480,000k already), I may be a little more sensitive than if I had a older beater just for commuting. All to say that you have to play it by ear to see how it starts and runs with various blends